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Semiosis: History
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Semiosis refers to the process through which signs generate meaning through relations among a sign, its object, and its interpretant. In Charles Sanders Peirce’s semiotic theory, this process is irreducibly triadic: a sign represents an object and determines an interpretant, understood as the effect or further sign through which the sign–object relation becomes intelligible [1]. Semiosis is therefore not reducible to a direct association between a sign and its referent, nor does it necessarily require deliberate communication between human agents [2]. In Umberto Eco’s semiotic framework, signification and communication are analyzed through sign-functions, codes, and processes of sign production, emphasizing the cultural conventions and interpretive conditions through which signs acquire meaning [3]. Semiosis can thus be understood as a relational and potentially ongoing process of signification and interpretation.

  • semiosis
  • semiotics
  • sign interpretation
  • signification
  • interpretant

References

  1. William E. Smythe; Siu L. Chow; The Formal and Mental Structures of Semiotic Processes. Theory Psychol. 1998, 8, 783-803, 10.1177/0959354398086004.
  2. Peirce, C.S. The Essential Peirce: Selected Philosophical Writings, Volume 2 (1893–1913); Indiana University Press: Bloomington, IN, USA,, 1998.
  3. Eco, U. A Theory of Semiotics; Indiana University Press: Bloomington, IN, USA, 1976. https://raggeduniversity.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/A-Theory-of-Semiotics-Umberto-Eco-1979.pdf
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